Browns hope to interview Condi Rice: report

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Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey is thinking outside of the box as he searches for the team’s next head coach.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice poses for a portrait while promoting her new book "Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom" in New York, U.S. May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Dorsey is seeking an interview with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Rice is a longtime fan of the Browns and the admiration apparently goes both ways. She joined owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam on the field in Oakland on Sept. 30 when the Browns were in town to play the Raiders.

If the team does interview Rice, it would make her the first woman ever interviewed for a head-coaching job by an NFL team. Even if she doesn’t get the job, Rice could join the team as a consultant or in another official capacity.

While Rice has no coaching experience, she has served as a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee and led a commission this year studying potential changes for college basketball.

Dorsey, hired in December 2017, fired former coach Hue Jackson on Oct. 29 after a 2-5-1 start. Jackson won just one of 32 games in his previous two seasons.

Dorsey will lead the search for Jackson’s replacement, with the Haslams signing off on the finalists.

Interim coach Gregg Williams, a longtime defensive coordinator, has gone 1-1 since taking over for Jackson and Dorsey has said he “deserves” to get an interview for the full-time job.

Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh have also had their names floated as potential targets.